20th Annual Showcase of Ship and Boat Models

Already home to one of the finest collections of ship models in Canada, the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax will host up to 300 more on Saturday, April 24 and Sunday, April 25.

For the 20th year, modelmakers from across Nova Scotia, plus a group from Saint John, N.B., will gather in Halifax to present a showcase of superb craftsmanship. The Modelmakers' Showcase, hosted annually by the Maritime Museum, is an opportunity not only for the modelmakers to exchange ideas but also to share their passion with the public.

This year's showcase is expected to feature the work of about 80 model builders, showing nearly 300 of their works at 120 tables.

"What began in the mid-1980s as a modest show with half a dozen craftspeople has now ballooned into Atlantic Canada's largest event on ship and boat models," said Gerry Lunn, curator of public programs with the Maritime Museum. "If you have never before attended, you really must. One can't help but be impressed with the variety of models and the high degree of skill the model builders exhibit to create these works of art."

The museum has 225 models from its own collection on permanent display including Cunard ocean liners, 19th century tern schooners and barques, and ships of war from various centuries. Thirty of the models used in the making of the children's television show Theodore Tugboat -- including Theodore, Hank, Emily, George and Foduck -- are also still on exhibit.

The public is invited to visit The Modelmakers' Showcase between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 24 or Sunday, April 25. The Maritime Museum is located at 1675 Lower Water St. on the Halifax waterfront. Admission to the event is included in the regular cost of a museum day pass -- $10 per family, $4 per adult and $2 per child.